A remedy for Verdigris

David Love davidlovepianos at comcast.net
Sat Mar 15 21:40:02 MST 2008


Don't laugh.  The great state of California may soon mandate it.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of erwinspiano at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 9:16 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: A remedy for Verdigris

 


Hey
 He /she would of course get the usual free lunch..... &.... occasional
bonus... plus flexible work hours & of course health insurance.......nahhhh
  Dale





Nine dollars an hour?  You slave driver.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com <http://www.davidlovepianos.com/>  

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
<mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org?> ] On Behalf Of erwinspiano at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:53 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: A remedy for Verdigris

 

 Yes ...quite true. It would have to be something the client would except
liability for. However the repair cost might be quite reasonable if my/your
9 dollar an hour employee spent 4 or 5 hours  pinning on new flanges &  Also
taking into account potential savings...ie. cost of traveling new flanges
,going thru the major adjustment of new wippens, setting up new spring
tensions & major capstan cranking ...more than just the parts costs are
saved. 
 Or how bout this hypothetical.  I have a  school with a donated older
Steinway. The shanks & flanges/hammers get replaced but the frozen wippens
are too much money to replace with new parts. An original set is available
with new flanges only. No guarantee made. Its' still better than a non
functioning Piano.
  How many times have we seen this done where the Teflon wippens are
retained but new shanks & hammers installed. The function in many of these
pianos isn't really all that bad barring extremes in friction or lack
friction.
 Obviously these are cases where the whole 9 yards is not required.
  Just to be clear....which I'm often not....I'm not condoning,dismissing or
judging this practice  & I'm also not asking for permission or approval to
do this but merely offering food for thought from a different perspective
than My usual custom restoration point of view. It was primarily a
brainstorming idea.  Like if I could wave my magic wand & have
non-vertigrised parts...wouldn't that be cool
 Dale

  

You have to be careful here that you're not creating a potential liability
in order to try and save a few dollars.  It might well cost you more in the
long run.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com <http://www.davidlovepianos.com/>  

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
<mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org?> ] On Behalf Of erwinspiano at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 9:53 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: A remedy for Verdigris

 

  Well all good points. Yes it's in the wood surrounding the bushing but on
extreme cases it seems to have crept into the wood. 
  Here's the deal I have two sets of 20's wippens that are absolutely free
of verdigris. & third that is not. SO if the gunk is in the flange only then
new flanges would solve the problem.   Maybe they didn't get the gunk. They
are well preserved  & frictions & pinning are excellent.
  As you say this would be in rare situations such as an econo job,  not
something I would usually subscribe to but I hate wasting what seems like
salvageable technology when feasible.
Thanks for the feedback
 
   Dale
 

 
 
It's a reasonable idea that might make sense in rare situations--though I'm
not sure what those would be--, but in general, not worth the effort and too
many potential liabilities.  At least that's my view.  If you're not
sentimental about original designs, there's certainly no reason to get
sentimental about original wippens with verdigris.   
 
David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com <http://www.davidlovepianos.com/>  
 
Original message
From: erwinspiano at aol.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 3/14/2008 7:45:02 PM
Subject: A remedy for Verdigris
 
 
Hey all
 I know ...I know there is no remedy for verdigris .... except a new parts
transplant... but the other day my 83 year old Dad & I were looking a
perfectly useable set of vintage Steinway wippens except for the mild case
of creeping green crud so, We were lamenting having to toss a beautiful set
of original Steinway wippens in the trash. We started brainstorming how we
could solve this given the contamination is in the wood.  Now I know many of
us have re-pinned & re- bushed ...put on new flanges etc. & in the end all
for nothing as it returns, But with a good set of wippens approaching 1000
bucks the idea has my attention.
  I told my Dad I was thinking about how to cut out the birds eye & then
machine a new insert with birds eye & all. My thought was that if the new
insert was put in with epoxy that this would act as a verdigris barrier from
entering back into the new wood. Then My Pops says "why not just coat the
existing birds eye with epoxy & slide a coated pin thru the hole to seal up
the exposed inner wood which should prove de a barrier to any further
contamination". Then pin on new flanges. I thought the idea had merit.
  I mean for a few short hours of pinning & coating an original set of
beautifully made & machined  maple wippens could be preserved & re-used at
any level of performance required. 
  How bout some discussion.
  Dale
  
 
 
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